How to repair torn fabric on luggage

Gabrielle BlackUpdated February 21, 2017

Travelling can be a frustrating experience if your luggage becomes damaged in transit. Do-it-yourself fabric luggage repairs are fairly easy if you prepare for these travel mishaps before departing by purchasing and packing repair supplies. If you have basic sewing and patching skills, you can sew tears in fabric luggage. If you have no sewing experience, using fabric glue will work just as well but might not be as pretty as a sewn repair.

Assess the size of the tear. If it is a minor tear, stitch the edges of the torn fabric together using a tight whip stitch starting at one end of the tear.

Push the needle through the fabric from inside the luggage and pull the needle and thread through the fabric.

Pull the thread across the tear and insert the needle into the other piece of torn fabric. Pull the needle and thread through the fabric. This should begin to close the tear. Repeat this looping stitch to pull the torn fabric together to create a strong repair seam.

Back stitch a few loops when you get to the end of the tear. Tie off the thread on the inside of the luggage and clip off excess thread with the scissors.

Sew a patch of matching fabric on the outside of the material using a traditional straight stitch if the tear is too large to whip stitch together.

Hold the patching fabric on the inside of the luggage where the tear is located.

Apply glue to the inside edges of the torn fabric.

Press the torn edges back together to close the hole while also pressing against the patch fabric. Apply more glue along the tear seam on the outside of the bag if it doesn't meet up tightly. Wipe off excess glue with a paper towel. Allow to dry for the amount of time recommended on the glue label before using the luggage.

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About the Author

Gabrielle Black has been a professional writer, artist and designer since 2002. Her theatrical designs, puppet design and construction have been featured in "Theatre Design & Technology" magazine and she has written numerous articles for various websites. She holds a Bachelor of Arts from Luther College and a Master of Fine Arts from the University of Idaho, both in stage design and painting.